Commission chairman, Dr. Bob Ramsey is announcing his bid for the Tennessee House of Representatives seat being vacated by Doug Overbey. Here's what Ramsey says he plans to do for us:

"If elected, I will try to support the moral and ethical principles of Blount County citizens, our educational system, the protection of the physical and economic well-being of our citizens, the equitable and efficient responsibility for revenues, law and order and the protection of our natural surroundings."

His quote rings hollow. Chairman Ramsey, what have you done for us lately? Ramsey, like many of his mild-mannered Republicans, have allowed the thug-Republicans to rule. Rather than purging the party of the elected officials he KNOWS are sinister souls, he's done NOTHING. He's looked the other way while citizens have been followed home, harassed and intimidated. He's turned a blind eye to conflicts of interest. He's never taken elected officials to task over questionable expenditures.

If he can't represent us here at home, there's no reason for us to believe he will do justice to the job in Nashville.

Let's look at that wonderful new firing range Blount County is getting. The DT says Link...

The agreement between the two allows for joint use of the facilities and gives the Guard priority use to meet state and federal mobilization requirements.

Buried in the Budget Committee Package Link... are a couple of interesting items on this contract. Now, I ain't no contract lawyer but I am still a taxpayer and on pdf page 26 the request for Budget Increase / Decrease it says the reason for the request is " The Sheriff's Office in cooration with the Tennessee Air National Guard will enhance our current target system with 100% funding for the target system from the Guard Bureau"

FREE! I love free! Who does not love FREE?

Oh, wait.. always a catch, eh?

Scroll on down to pdf page 32 and look at the Estimated County Share. Is that $2,100,000 I see? Really? Free cost two point one million? AH, I can't be reading this correctly can I?

Continuing to pdf page 33 I see under Project Scope, item C that someone has to provide 3,500 sq feet of dedicated space to the ANG in the new Operations Building.

Since the full contract is not included in this month's County Commission package I think it is fair to simply ask what the $2,100,000.00 is all about. Someone better ask!

UPDATE- version two of the CC info package is now online and this contract is now included in the package. No new data, simply the contract is now added.

Lance Coleman at Blount Today files this report on the meeting in support of County Commissioners Wendy Pitts Reeves and Dr. Bob Proffitt:

The mantra shared by many at the gathering was that Pitts Reeves and Proffitt are facing criticism not for committing conflict of interest but rather for asking too many questions about how the county is run and how money is spent.

[..]

“It’s very, very humbling, that’s what this shows,” Pitts Reeves said. Of her actions and questioning of county business and processes, she said, “It’s tapping into a need in Blount County.”

Read the full report here.

Knox Co. Commissioner Mark Harmon has an outsanding letter to his State Senator regarding the current efforts to undermine Tennessee's Open Meetings Act. It seems appropriate in the current political climate here.

Wendy Pitts Reeves responds to the conflict of interest controversy at her blog. Here's an excerpt:

I will be resigning from the Highlands' Blount County provider panel this week. I have been reluctant to do so previously out of concern for how that might affect the handful of clients I currently see under that plan. However, I'll make sure they receive the care they need either way. This loss of income on my part is not really necessary, as I do not have any conflict of interest with the county (we've never voted on any contract with an insurance company for medical/mental health benefits; I do not receive any funds from Highlands Health Partnership; I have no control over what provider list they choose to use or, for that matter, who employees choose to use for their mental health care). Still, I don't want any of you to worry and I'm trying to keep things as simple and clear cut as possible.

Many of you may remember that I resigned from the Human Resource and Insurance Committee back at the start of this year, just in case I could some day have a conflict.

She will also be submitting the issue to the Ethics Committee since, as she notes, no one else has. And she will be recusing herself from the discussion, since it involves her. Read her statement at her blog.

From what is known so far, it appears that Commissioner Reeves has been aboveboard and acted with the utmost integrity throughout all of this, unlike some of her detractors. It seems like we need more of the former and less of the latter in local government.

Blount Today files this report with more details about ridiculous allegations of conflicts of interest at last week's County Commission meeting.

An excerpt:

Ramsey again said it appeared the commissioners were getting into a disagreement over personalities. At that point, commissioner Mike Walker said discussing individual county employees and who they go to for treatment comes close to violating the federal [HIPAA] laws.

Wendy Pitts Reeves writes at her blog regarding the controversy:

Both Commissioners Helton and Burchfield, along with nine others, voted AGAINST my request to ask for an attorney's opinion on a potential conflict of interest in July that involved the management or potential influence of $30+ million in county funds. Yet Mr. Helton then turned right around and, per his report, went straight to Mr. Cunningham's attorney to ask about what insurance Dr. Proffitt and I may or may not accept in our small private practices.

Follow both links for the rest of the story.

County Commissioner Scott Helton injected partisan politics into last night's meeting by attacking Commissioners Wendy Pitts Reeves and Bob Proffitt, apparently in retaliation for questions raised during a previous meeting regarding another commissioner's ties to a bank that does business with the county.

The Maryville Daily Times has this report. The Knoxville News Sentinel also has a report.

Reeves expressed her previous concerns in an appropriate and respectful manner. Her question was legitimate. These new "allegations" against her and Dr. Proffitt are laughable, as anyone with a lick of common sense can readily see. It does not reflect well on the accusers or their motives. If they're going to play it this way, they ought to bring their "A" game.

This kind of stuff is par for the course over in Knox County. It needs to be kept out of Blount County government.